Number of days to stay in Universal Orlando

I am planning a trip for my family to Universal and Legoland in Orlando for next year, in mid September. We visited Disneyworld two years ago and did not include any other park but Disney's.

My first question is if two days for visiting each park (Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Legoland) is right, or if it is too much. I know my daughter will be thrilled with Harry Potter World and Legoland, but I don't know if two days is too much for Universal Studios.

And the second question is if it is really convenient to stay in an inside hotel, such as we did in Disneyworld.

Thank you very much for your advice, I need it so much!Ana =)

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Legoland iisn't part of Universal - it's located quite a bit down the road, off I-4 in Winter Haven, so you'll need to factor in drive time to include that park.

I think three days is probably enough to see all the highlights at Universal Orlando. You could probably do both parks in just two days if you go on a lightly-attended day or if you stay at one of the three on-site hotels and get front-of-the-line access.

If you stay onsite or get Express (Express is free on site) you can get both the parks done in one day or two days. Legoland is a 45-50 minute drive from Orlando. For young kids it's good, but tweens+ will be bored. I would recommend MK over Legoland any day with young kids (or anyone for that matter).

Three days is ideal for Universal Orlando, one for each park and then one day to revisit your favourites (assuming you purchase a park hopper ticket). I don't know much about Legoland, but I know enough to realise one day will be more than enough time to spend there.

I've stayed offsite during peak periods and hit every attraction at Universal Orlando in two days - so if it isn't in your budget, Universal is definitely 'doable' staying offsite. In fact, I have done it in one day without express pass (albeit I missed a couple of lesser attractions). Though I wouldn't advise attempting that - that came around through lots of research and years of experience! If you are planning on doing Universal for two days, or even three, definitely check out some touring plans and adapt them to your own family's priorities and enjoyment. The tour plans on this site are good for hitting most, if not all the major attractions of the parks.

I'm sorry to hijack your thread, Ana. But a quick question for the Orlando residents/experts on here. I need to settle a point on another forum. What's the closest beach to Orlando and how far is it? I'm talking OCEAN beach, and Orlando isn't really near the ocean, is it?

If you have never been to universal before don't spend anymore then 4 days there. We stayed 6 days at universal onsite hotel and was so bored out of our minds we took a taxi cab ride to the magic kingdom.